


Adora's Day Off

by beachesbian



Category: Beach Boardwalk fandom, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: (the second fandom i tagged is a joke lmao), Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Canon Lesbian Relationship, Day At The Beach, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Fun, Kissing, No Plot/Plotless, POV Adora (She-Ra), Post-Canon, This is pure fluff, Trans Bow (She-Ra), beach boardwalk, best friend squad on vacation, seriously don't expect any plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beachesbian/pseuds/beachesbian
Summary: Adora smiles in spite of herself. It's been months since the war ended, and she still can't believe that she gets to be with the love of her life now, and that Catra is finally friends with the rest of the Best Friend Squad after years of fighting. Their magical road trip has been a huge success so far, and they're taking a break from their duties to have a vacation on this planet, which has lots of entertainment available.The Best Friend Squad takes a vacation at the beach boardwalk. Shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Bow (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48





	1. Beach Friend Squad

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever! 
> 
> I loved She-Ra so damn much (who doesn't?) that between Catradora becoming canon and the show ending, I had to put my desire for more content into creating some of it myself. 
> 
> Also, full disclosure, this fic is basically just self-indulgent fluff. I'm sad I can't go to the beach this summer and I miss the Best Friend Squad, so I'm solving both of those problems by living vicariously through these characters as they hang out at the Boardwalk. My friends who watch She-Ra have enjoyed reading it, though, and if you like Catradora kisses and general Best Friend Squad cuteness, I think you will, too. 
> 
> Not sure yet how many chapters there will be, but I have lots of ideas for more! You can expect gay/beach/She-Ra related puns for chapter titles. If you're reading this, hopefully that's your thing.
> 
> Also, note: I spelled it "Lazer" tag because that's how it's spelled at the Boardwalk closest to me, lol.
> 
> My spop twitter is @catradorartist if you want to swing by!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy :)

"CATRA, GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Glimmer howls, huffing like she always does when she doesn't get what she wants. "DON'T MAKE ME TELEPORT YOU DOWN!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," laughs Bow. He envelops her in a warm embrace, and she sighs. "She's just being Catra. She'll come down for Adora soon enough." He points at said friend, who is pouring her third cup of Dippin' Dots into her mouth.

"Ahhhh--mm, what?" Adora comes back to reality. She follows Bow's gaze, and scrunches her face, but her eyes are sparkling. "Catra, no fair!"

Catra looks down, smirking, and sticks her tongue out. "Not my fault you're too clumsy to get up here yourself!"

She's perched on top of the Giant Coaster at the Beach Boardwalk, which she definitely is not allowed to be doing, but if Adora knows anything about Catra, it's that she has never been one to follow rules. It used to drive her up the wall back in the Horde, but if she's being honest with herself, it's one of the many, many things she loves about her. "You're gonna regret that!" she yells playfully up at her girlfriend, and then Bow jabs her.

"Uh, ADORA--"

Catra has been focusing her attention looking teasingly down at Adora, but suddenly her ears shoot up and her tail fluffs up in alarm. "What--AIEE!" she shrieks as the tracks shake underneath her, and she quickly bounds down and races on all fours back to Adora, grabbing her hand. "What IS that?!"

Now Glimmer is laughing. "That," she says, "is a ROLLERCOASTER." The car rockets past right where Catra was sitting, and Catra lets out a hiss. "That's why I told you to get down!" Adora tightens her hold on Catra's hand, relieved that she's okay.

"Alright, you were right, Sparkles," Catra grumbles. Adora smiles in spite of herself. It's been months since the war ended, and she still can't believe that she gets to be with the love of her life now, and that Catra is finally friends with the rest of the Best Friend Squad after years of fighting. Their magical road trip has been a huge success so far, and they're taking a break from their duties to have a vacation on this planet, which has lots of entertainment available. Adora smiles again as she notices Glimmer and Bow's arms around each others' waists. It's been a long time coming for those two to get together.

Catra interrupts her musing. "This place would be a lot nicer if the good perches wouldn't try to kill me. Let's go walk around and see what else is here."

Adora and Catra fall behind Bow and Glimmer, who have caught sight of something flashing up ahead and speed up to see what it is. Behind them, Adora nudges Catra. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she mutters. "Hey, did you have another one of those ice cream things? You got something on your chin." Before Adora can reach her hand up to wipe it away, Catra smiles and quickly kisses just off-right from the center of her mouth, which sends just as many butterflies spiraling in Adora's stomach as ever. She gazes fondly at her girlfriend until Catra says "Hey, you still have to watch where you're going, dummy!"

They continue to walk past rides until Adora sees Bow and Glimmer stop in front of a building labeled **Lazer Tag.** "That sounds familiar, wanna play?" she asks Catra.

"Uh, duh. What about you two?"

Bow and Glimmer look at each other, grin, and nod in unison.

* * *

"Bow, you ready?"

Bow gives Adora a nod and a determined smile. "Let's do this!" He creeps into the maze, adjusting the holster the attendant gave all of them when entering the Lazer Tag building. Adora is glad she teamed up with him. Trying to beat Catra in Lazer Tag is already making her reminiscent of one of the few actually fun parts of her childhood: playing with her girlfriend. And a little friendly competition between Bow and Glimmer was going to be fun to watch.

Adora stalks silently out after Bow waves a hand signal to her. She looks down, noticing that her white shirt peeking out from under her jacket is glowing under the blacklight, and ducks behind a wall when she hears footsteps. Must be Glimmer, she thinks. Catra has never been clunky enough to be heard.

Bow retreats a little farther into his corner, but Adora lets her confidence get the best of her and somersaults out into the open. "Aha!" she says triumphantly, scoring a laser shot right in Glimmer's chest. Except, no--despite the purple hair, that's not Glimmer, that's a random child. Uh oh. The kid's face scrunches up and Adora is worried they're gonna cry, but then they look at her and start laughing.

"Wait, you're like, 20! And your clothes are weird. Why did you do a somersault? You're funny." The kid runs off, giggling.

"Hey! For your information, I'm 21. And somersaults are COOL," she whispers, then immediately feels silly when she realizes she sounds exactly like Frosta did at Princess Prom, and also that that's not exactly better. Oops. “My clothes aren’t _weird,”_ she grumbles as an afterthought.

 _"Adora!"_ Bow whisper-yells, as he often does. _"Get back here!"_ Adora stands up and motions to get back behind the wall again when something lithe and fluffy flies into her peripheral vision. She ducks, to no avail, and Catra lands on top of her.

"Hey, Adora. Miss me?" she purrs. She's pulling out her lazer gun to shoot Adora so Adora thinks fast and pulls her girlfriend in for a kiss. Catra drops the gun in surprise and then, after a moment, wraps her arms around Adora's head, and she's kissing her back and Adora feels lightheaded and--

PEW! Catra's vest buzzes and she jumps back off of Adora, leaving her lying on the ground. Glimmer is standing victoriously behind her with her lazer gun up. "SPARKLES! I can't believe you betrayed me!" Her tail is puffed up in irritation.

"Sorry, Horde Scum. SOME of us didn't let ourselves get distracted," teases Glimmer, next to Bow, who looks mildly stunned with a red X on his vest indicating that she got him too. Adora sits up and pulls out her lazer gun to shoot her friend's vest while she's taunting Catra, but Glimmer whips her head around to see it and teleports away, dusting sparkles in her absence.

"HEY! That's cheating!" Adora calls, jumping to her feet.

"Oh, you want me to come back?" Glimmer materializes in the air next to Catra and, before Adora can react, shoots the center of her chest.

"Damn, Glimmer, that was pretty ruthless," concedes Adora on the way out. She looks over at her friends to see Bow looking at Glimmer with googly eyes, as usual, after Glimmer does something cool. Awww.

Catra scowls. "I could do better. Next time, I'm getting you back!" She says it threateningly, but she brushes her tail against Glimmer's shoulder to show there isn't any real animosity.

"Hey! Look over there! That game looks dope, you get to drive those--what are they called--cars around! Ooh, they're so tiny," croons Bow, pointing to another attraction across the way.

Adora and Catra grab hands and Adora hears her girlfriend start to purr as they head towards the game, and her heart swells. This day has been perfect, and she can already tell it's only going to get better.


	2. Fast (Bumper) Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now they're about to start. Adora and Glimmer are buckled in by a small seatbelt around their waists, which is to say, not very securely. Glimmer is sitting in the driver's seat, but Adora has her own steering wheel to take over with if she wants.
> 
> A yellow light turns on as an automated voice coming from the speakers announces, "Game starting in three, two, one." The lights turn green and the cars around them start moving. 
> 
> "LET'S GO!" yells Glimmer, slamming on the gas pedal.
> 
> The Best Friend Squad continues their day at the beach; mischief, outfit changes, kisses, and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode brought to you by: I miss bumper cars at the Boardwalk, and Adora REALLY needs some new clothes.
> 
> Hopefully you get the Tracy Chapman reference in the chapter title :P If not, you should go listen to Fast Car right now. It's a staple in lesbian culture, and a masterpiece.
> 
> I didn't add this last chapter, so I wanted to give a shoutout to strangehunger on here for being my fanfic mentor and helping me navigate this site! Thanks a bunch :) You should check out her work, it's heartwarming and heart-wrenching at once.
> 
> Happy Saturday and happy reading!

"Ready to destroy your girlfriend and my boyfriend in this SMASHING cars game?" Glimmer says loudly, flashing a grin to Adora.

"NOT GONNA HAPPEN!" Catra and Bow yell from their car across the track in unison, and they look at each other in surprise. Bow starts giggling, and Catra smiles in spite of herself. 

Adora is just so full of joy.

"You bet I’m ready," she tells Glimmer. "Also, isn't it called  _ bumper  _ cars--" She cuts herself off when she sees Glimmer's devious grin that she knows all too well. "Ohh, I see, you're plotting something."

"Of COURSE I am! Ever since Dad got back, I've been learning to speak Dad, and that includes Dad-type battle plans." Glimmer's face glows with joy and warmth whenever she talks about King Micah being back, and Adora can't help but give her friend a fond smile. 

Adora pans over her surroundings again. She and the rest of the Best Friend Squad are in their respective bumper cars, two to each car. The game takes place on a metal floor with about the area of two houses (or one room in Glimmer's palace) surrounded by fencing on all sides. The cars themselves are tiny versions of the vehicles this planet uses for transportation, and they're each attached to the ceiling with a long metal pole. The friends had all seen that the main purpose of the game was to smash into other people as much as possible, and there was just no turning that kind of game down.

Now they're about to start. Adora and Glimmer are buckled in by a small seatbelt around their waists, which is to say, not very securely. Glimmer is sitting in the driver's seat, but Adora has her own steering wheel to take over with if she wants.

A yellow light turns on as an automated voice coming from the speakers announces, "Game starting in three, two, one." The lights turn green and the cars around them start moving. 

"LET'S GO!" yells Glimmer, slamming on the gas pedal.

"WhoAA!" Adora is jolted forward in her seat and has to grab the sides of the car to steady herself. "Okay, what's the plaaaAAA!" Glimmer drives full speed ahead and crashes into the wall.

"Oops! Oh well, you can take over steering now," Glimmer says sheepishly. Adora steers the car away from the wall, back towards the center of the track. "And the plan is to--LOOK OUT!!!!"

"The plan is to look ou--" Adora is cut off as a car with some kids in it does a spinning crash into their car, sending it careening over to a corner. The crash jolts them as far forward as their seatbelts will allow, and hitting the corner slams their heads back against the headrests. "OOF!"

Adora looks back to see that Catra and Bow are right behind the car that smashed them, clearly having bumped that car to purposely send it crashing into Adora and Glimmer. Catra is laughing that wonderful, wonderful laugh that Adora has loved for as long as she can remember. Bow does a victory pump and yells, "Woo!"

Adora scowls briefly, but she can't help but smile as well.

Glimmer is less forgiving. "ALRIGHT, THAT DOES IT! Adora, do you see that empty bumper car in that far corner? And do you remember how Sea Hawk helped us defeat Catra, Scorpia and Lonnie in Salineas the first time we were there?"

After taking a moment to think back, Adora raises her eyebrows and then grins determinedly. "Hell yeah I do! Hit the gas!"

She turns the car around while Glimmer cautiously holds down the gas pedal halfway. Then, once they're out of there, Adora evades attacks from a couple of other bumper cars to get to where Catra and Bow are successfully, well, bumping the cars of a lot of strangers.

"Alright, FLOOR IT!" Adora grabs Glimmer's arm as their car barrels right towards Bow and Catra's.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH," she and Glimmer both yell, and right at the last second Glimmer teleports them into the formerly empty car in the far corner.

Catra turns around with a shriek and Bow turns too late when they see the car just about to hit them, and then it crashes into them at full speed, sending them spinning until they hit a wall.

"NO FAIR! Teleporting should not be allowed in this game!" Catra yells across the track indignantly.

"Not my fault you can't teleport," Adora calls back smugly. Catra scowls and then, like Adora, can't stop herself from smiling.

* * *

"Uhhh.... Are you  _ sure _ about this?"

Adora makes a face in the dressing room mirror. Glimmer, at long, long last, has ("FINALLY!" exclaimed Bow at the news) convinced her to try on some new clothes. The Best Friend Squad had all entered the Boardwalk in their regular clothes (minus Glimmer's crown; she reasoned she didn't need to announce on vacation that she was a queen), but soon the heat had made them uncomfortably sticky. Once Bow and Glimmer spotted a beach clothes shop on the boardwalk, that was it.

Until recently, Adora would have refused point-blank. Since Catra told her she loved her (Adora feels her heart melting even thinking of this), Adora has finally been able to fully accept her friends' love and support as well, though, and things have changed. With that and the help of some therapy from both Perfuma and Melog, Adora has finally started finding some real comfort in herself, and she's willing to try to include physical appearance in that, too.

Still, it isn't an easy switch. She looks up at the mirror, taking in her reflection. She's wearing a blue tank top that has an ocean bird--she learned this planet calls them seagulls--wearing sunglasses saying "Surf's up" printed on it and a pair of tight, short shorts that are making her feel very self-conscious.

Glimmer snaps her out of her reverie. "You look great, Adora! What matters in fashion is feeling comfortable, though. And  _ you _ don't look very comfortable." Glimmer had had no such problems; upon entering the shop she immediately found a white tank top tied around the neck and high-waisted jean shorts that she loved, and hasn't taken them off since. "I'll be right back."

Glimmer pushes past the privacy curtain and, true to her word, is back only a minute later carting more clothes.

"Try these! They seem sportier. I think you'll like them more." She smiles at her friend, and Adora smiles back. She's so grateful to have Glimmer in her life.

Glimmer leaves her in privacy while Adora changes. Once Adora's put the outfit on, she immediately feels something not unpleasant that she can't quite place. Is it... comfort? Confidence? 

She turns to the mirror. She's now wearing a white sleeveless hoodie with red strings dangling down, red-and-white gaudy floral-print board shorts that stop mid-thigh, and red aviator sunglasses. Adora can't help but grin. This outfit is ridiculous, but she feels like herself in it. 

"I think this is the one, Glimmer."

"GOOD!" Faster than Adora can fully process at first, Glimmer rips the privacy curtain open and pushes the apparently-just-outside Catra to face Adora. Catra's wearing a purple and turquoise shirt that looks suspiciously to be exactly the colors of Melog's fur and mane that's in the same floral pattern as Adora's shorts (that type of shirt is called a Hawaiian shirt, she remembers). The shirt only has a few buttons in the middle done, exposing a turquoise sports bra and a few adorable tufts of stomach fur that Adora can't help but think about running her hands through. She has a pair of black swim shorts on. And she's staring at Adora like she's hoping to win the lottery and Adora is the jackpot ticket.

"Y-you look, uh," stammers Catra, blushing. 

Adora is blushing too, but snaps out of it faster to smirk at her girlfriend (especially when she notices Catra is staring at her toned upper arms).  "I look what?"

Glimmer turns away, whistling.

Catra steps closer to Adora and regains her composure. She takes both her hands, and a soft look overcomes her face. "You look beautiful, my love." Now it's Adora's turn to get flustered.

"You look great too," she says breathlessly, and soon she's smiling into a kiss.

When they eventually pull away, Adora asks, "Hey, how did you find a shirt that matches Melog anyway?"

"Sparkles may have done some magical tweaking," Catra admits, stifling a laugh. "You should have seen the cashier's face! We tried to convince him it was a trick of the light..."

Smiling, Adora pulls Catra's hand to head over to meet Glimmer and Bow. Bow's new outfit is a rainbow mesh crop top with a white outline of a heart (of course) traced on the chest, white swim trunks, and white flip-flops with a rainbow heart on each strap. Resting on his forehead are a pair of red heart-shaped sunglasses. Under the mesh shirt, Adora can make out Bow's chest scars.

When they had first done research on this planet, Bow had noticed that since they didn't have gender confirmation magic here, they made that stuff happen with surgery, and they didn't have magic to cover up the scars it left. Meanwhile, up until recently on Etheria, because so much magic had to be directed towards fighting the Horde when the war was going on, there hadn't been much left for anything else. When the war ended, and especially now that Etheria's full magic had been released, there was plenty to go around, so Bow decided to ask Micah for help with gender confirmation magic. He had told Adora he ended up being glad he'd had to wait until after he found this planet anyway, because he loved the symbolism of wearing a part of you on your chest so much that he asked Micah not to get rid of the scars after the process was done. He's been wearing as many sheer and mesh shirts as possible since, and it warms Adora's heart to see him so full of bliss.

"This is for you, sweetie," Bow tells Glimmer in the shop, gently clipping a flower hair pin to part her hair. The flower has five wide petals, mostly light purple in color that gently shift into pink and blue on either end of each petal. Bow takes some glitter out of his pocket and dusts it over the flower. "So it matches your hair."

It matches Glimmer's eyes too, thinks Adora, as they're now wide and sparkling to match the lovesick smile on her face. "Thank you, love," she responds, and Adora turns away with a knowing smirk while Glimmer leans and kisses Bow.

Catra clears her throat.

"Oh hey guys! Didn't see you there!" Bow exclaims, blushing from the kiss but not embarrassed. "Hey, you both look awesome! I love that you're matching."

Adora beams and Catra rolls her eyes. "I knew someone would bring that up," she grumbles, but she can't help but smile anyway. "Thanks, though, Arrow Boy."

After Adora pays for her new clothes and Glimmer teleports everyone's old outfits on the ship, the group steps outside. The heat is a lot more bearable in the lighter clothes, and with the salty, cooling ocean breeze and gentle cries of seagulls in the background, it's actually quite pleasant out. Adora closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting herself soak in the glow of the day.

Suddenly, screams from several people jolt her out of her relaxation. "HUH? What's going on? Do we need She-ra?"

Catra puts an arm soothingly around her and guides her to face a structure several buildings away that Adora soon realizes is the Giant Coaster. "It's okay! It's just people on the rollercoaster," she says gently.

"Oh." Adora laughs, feeling foolish. "Well, that sounds fun! We HAVE to go!"

"Hell yeah we do!" Bow yells as Glimmer also exclaims in agreement. Adora grabs Catra's hand and starts racing over, dragging her girlfriend in tow, ecstatic to see what the rest of the day will bring.


End file.
